Page 5 of Treasured By the Hunter

I did, however, sneak a peek through the slats of the boarded-up window. I needed to know where they were so I could make an escape while they were distracted by the bugs. But it wasn’t Corey or his stolen electric vehicle that greeted me.

A purple Xarc’n hunter wielding two swords fought the scuttlers outside. Despite his massively muscled frame and shoulders that would put Thor to shame, he danced nimbly between the creatures, his twin blades gleaming as they beheaded my multilegged attackers.

While the weapons were shaped very much like old Earth longswords, they were made of some unknown alien alloy. They made easy work of the bugs’ thick carapaces, the glowing plasma edge practically melting through them like butter.

Was it the same alien warrior from before? It had to be. I recognized the lighter patches of purple on him. His yellow eyes gleamed in the sunlight as he kicked one of the twitching scuttlers away and swung his sword again at the one that replaced it. He bared his sharp teeth in a wide grin, almost like he was having fun.

Well, the Xarc’ns did claim they were engineered especially to kill the deadly space bugs, so maybe hewashaving fun.

With his foes dispatched, he turned to the house, his keen eyes scanning the windows, and spotted me right through the cracks between the boards. Oops. Instead of using the opportunity to run, I’d stayed to watch the battle.

I ran to the living room and picked up the shotgun from the gun rack on the wall. I knew it wasn’t loaded, but I was willing to bluff. There hadn’t been a firearm in my pack, just a knife.

I pointed at the crack in the board, pressing it right up against the glass, and hoped he recognized what it was.

“Leave now, or I’ll shoot!” I yelled.

I knew he could understand me. They all understood English.

I peered through a smaller crack to see what he would do. Instead of leaving, he backed up, facing the door, and then lowered his head so that all I could see were his huge horns.

Holy shit! He was going to ram his way in!

It took a single try, and the door gave up the ghost, flying off its hinges.

The alien looked in shock at the door, which was now a crumpled mess in the foyer. He ran a ham-sized hand over his dark hair, looking sheepish, said something in a humorous tone, then chuckled. His voice was low and growly despite the amused tone.

A robotic voice coming from a device on the alien’s belt translated. “Oops. I didn’t mean to do that.”

Chapter 3: Harb’k

The first thing I noticed after I realized I’d put way too much strength into opening the door was her scent. I recognized it even through the stench of the scented spray she’d doused herself in. I’d followed the right female after all.

Something had happened a few nights ago. The location where she’d stayed showed signs of being overrun by the scourge. She and another female had split from their group, and they were now chasing her. I was glad I’d decided to follow this female instead of the other.

I slapped my chest with a palm. “I am Harb’k.”

She blinked a few times, then looked from me to the door again. She was probably still shocked at the dramatic display of strength. It hadn’t been on purpose. I’d thought she’d piled furniture against the door to stop me. I’d misjudged and tore the door right off its hinges. Luckily, I’d taken care of all the scourge outside, and there were no more in the vicinity.

“I am Harb’k.” I repeated, tapping at my chest again.

My translator stayed silent since I was speaking in my best English. I even tried to mispronounce my name the strange way the humans at camp did. She didn’t react, and I wondered howbadly I was butchering her language. Heather had assured me my accent wasn’t horrible, and it was technically only two words.

Her mop of curly hair, the color of the stars in the night sky, was a mess. And there was a smudge of dirt on her face. But those did nothing to mar her beauty.

While she didn’t reek of fear, she was also wary of me. It wasn’t what I was used to. The females back at camp were accustomed to Xarc’n warriors. Some even actively tried to initiate contact in hopes of a mate bond with a hunter.

She wasn’t immune to my physical prowess however; I noticed how her eyes had landed on my shoulders, then traveled down the expanse of my burly chest, and finally settled on my abs. She liked what she saw. I was glad human females were hardwired to like our bodies.

When she finally moved, it was to train her weapon on me.

I’d seen this type of gun in action before and didn’t want to be on the receiving end, but there was a high chance she was out of ammo. She hadn’t been carrying that weapon when she entered the home. I’d been watching her as well as the group who was tailing her.

“I am not here to harm you.” The translator worked from my belt, repeating my words in English. “But that weapon is not functional.”

Her face fell, confirming my speculation, but she tried to hide it. She squared her shoulders and continued to aim the weapon at me. “Oh yeah? Try me.”

She said it with so much confidence that for the split fraction of a second, I thought maybe the gun was loaded after all. Her bravery had me grinning as I walked right past her and sat down onto the couch.

---